A Respite

Coming Off A Busy Couple Of Weeks

The last few weeks have been quite busy here in Ostrava.  One of the things that I get an opportunity to do is visit local schools.  During these school visits I speak with different classes about different topics from American criminal and constitutional law to basic American culture.  Over the last two weeks I got the opportunity to spend two different days at a local school in Ostrava.  Over the last year and half I have built a very good relationship with several teachers from this school and because of this I am asked at least every other month to come and speak to some of the classes.  One of the teachers who works there attends the Církev bratrská church in Poruba and one of the other teachers is also a believer and really encourages me to feel free to invite his students to youth meetings or conversation groups.  This is a huge blessing because there have been several others schools that have been quite difficult to get into.  Pray that the Lord would keep this relationship going and that He would use these opportunities build His Kingdom.  Just this past week I had a new person join the teen conversation group and he seemed to really enjoy it and wants to convince his friends to come as well.  Also I got to meet a new class last Monday so hopefully I will get more opportunities to get to know them better and them me.  

A Freshmen English Class

An Invitation To Prom

Before you freak out, the invitation was from Petr and Petra.  Petr is on the board of directors for a Christian high school in a town about an hour away from Ostrava.  Last Saturday, I went with he and Petra to attend their Winter Ball, which be the equivalent of our American proms.  Let me tell you though, the experience was very different.  At my two high school proms I remember dancing to the music of NSYNC, the Backstreet Boys, Tupac and Eminem played by a DJ.  There were no parents, only a few teachers and NO ALCOHOL.  The music that was played at this event was live music consisting of popular Czech songs, a few Pop songs from the 80's and 90's and some polka music.  I didn't do any dancing.  There were also quite a few parents of students and almost every faculty member.  There was also quite a bit of alcohol.  Because the drinking age in the Czech Republic is 18, half of the high school population is legally allowed to drink.  It was very interesting for me to see students drinking and talking to teachers.  The reason that Petr and Petra invited me was because there are several Americans that work at the school and he thought that I would enjoy meeting them.  They also wanted to introduce me to someone whose son is one of the best junior golfers in the country.  Golf is slowly moving from being a game for the wealthy here so Petr thought that we might be able to organize some opportunity for me to play some golf.  I spent most of the evening meeting different people and talking.  Petr and Petra enjoyed the evening because they were able to try out some of the dance moves they have been learning from their recent dance classes.

Young and old alike cuttin' some rug

New People And A Touch Of Class

Two Fridays ago we had a new teenager attend Youth Revolution.  Katka, a recently baptized new believer began attending the group about a month and a half ago.  Two weeks ago she invited one of her friends from school to join us.  Her friend, Eliška, is not a believer but she really enjoyed her time with us.  I spoke about a difficult topic from Matthew 7:21-23.  I was a bit worried that I might have scared her away but Katka said that she really enjoyed it and that they were going to invite another friend to come at the next meeting.  Pray that God would not only allow Katka, Eliška and the new friend to get more and more comfortable within the group but that the Holy Spirit would work in the hearts of Eliška and the other friend as well as the rest of the group.  

This past week we had our second Progressive Dinner here in Ostrava.  Last year I tried to organize the travel using the public transportation system and it didn't work out that well because if a group missed the bus they were twenty minutes late to the next home.  This year we had homes very close to the church and only needed one driver for one of the groups.  The teens got to know some of the church families a little better and enjoy some great food and dancing.

My group enjoying some of Míla's teriyaki chicken.

A sight often seen (Matouš showing something from YouTube or Facebook to someone else)

We clean up well.

This is serious business.

Or maybe not so much...

Sharing some dessert, Terka looks really excited for some ice cream.

This Week

Yesterday afternoon I had another opportunity to preach.  I spoke from 1 John 3:1-3.  I was so thankful for the way in which the Holy Spirit was present during the service both during the sermon and during worship.  It was very evident that the worship was vibrant and that the sermon reached the hearts of the congregation.  Pray that the congregation, myself included, would continue to grow in our understanding of God's love for His children and in our hope for the day that we will see Jesus face to face.  

The rest of this week will be a nice break.  There are still things that I will need to do like hold English conversation groups and study Czech but because this week is the Spring Break for all Ostrava schools most of the students are away for the week so we will not be having Youth Revolution this week.  This will allow me to rest a bit but also get a head start working on some school presentations that I will need in the next couple of weeks.

Thanks for your continued prayers!